What a difference a good year can make. Last season, Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg was claimed on waivers three different times, bouncing around while hardly playing. He did get an opportunity with Ottawa and did well enough to get a low-cost one-year extension worth $900K, a reasonable move for both sides in terms of getting them some goalie insurance and Forsberg a bit of stability.
Fast forward to this season and the 29-year-old has had a nice year so far, posting a .912 SV% in 16 games for the lottery-bound Sens. Not surprisingly, with goalie depth being an issue for some teams and cap space an issue for many, Ottawa has been receiving trade interest in Forsberg, reports Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.
However, while Ottawa is well out of playoff contention, it’s far from a guarantee that they’ll want to move Forsberg. With Matt Murray struggling again this season and Filip Gustavsson still unproven in the NHL, Forsberg could still be viewed as an insurance policy for the Senators for next season. While Gustavsson will be waiver-eligible at that time, Ottawa was able to get Murray through waivers earlier this season and with two years left on his contract after this one, they’ll likely be able to get him through next year without any issues so Forsberg’s return wouldn’t necessarily create an unwanted logjam between the pipes.
The in-season goaltending trade market usually isn’t particularly robust and there’s little reason to think it will be this season either. Nevertheless, Forsberg’s cheap cap hit will make him more desirable than some of the other rentals making two or three times more than what he’s making and a mid-round pick could definitely be attainable for GM Pierre Dorion which would represent a nice return on a waiver claim from less than a year ago.
Meanwhile, with teams having interest in trading for him and the fact he’s having a good season, Forsberg himself appears to be well-positioned to land a sizable raise on the open market this summer. Not bad for someone who was bouncing around the league as a third-stringer for the better part of last season.
Buffalo needs a goalie !
id doubt for more than a 6th
And Calvin Pickard upped his trade value tonight by winning against the Pens in Pennsburgh! LOL
someone say CALVIN PICKARD!?
Sounds like a bit of fake news to sound credible
and break a “new” story.
A cheap goalie. Could make sense for the Oilers and other teams.
As a Sens fan I’d be happy to flip Forsberg to the Oilers for Koskinen if they include a sweetener in the deal. The cap space alone is worth it for the Oilers. Forsberg for Koskinen and Samorukov!
It’s no surprise that Forsberg and Murray began to play well when 3/6 of the defenders in front of them aren’t Mete, Brown, and Del Zotto.
Murray has actually been kinda sorta OK lately, actually. Hopefully, he can turn it around and not become a trivia question like Jim Carey.